Title: The CELIAS experiment on board the SOHO spacecraft


Authors: P. Bochsler
Reference: Proc. of the IVth International Seminar: Manufacturing of Scientific Space Instrumentation, V.M. Balebanov (ed.), Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute, Frunze, (1989) 137-147.

Abstract:
The objective of the CELIAS experiment is to determine the composition, charge state, and energy distribution of solar wind ions and of suprathermal ions in the interplanetary plasma. Launch of the payload to the L1 Lagrangian Point, 1.5 million km upstream towards the Sun, is scheduled for 1995. The SOHO spacecraft will provide a three-axis stabilized platform, thus allowing a 100% duty cycle for solar wind investigations. The CELIAS experiment consists of four subunits: a Proton Monitor (PM), a Charge-Time-of-Flight sensor (CTOF), a Mass-Time-of-Flight sensor (MTOF), and a Suprathermal-Time-of-Flight sensor (STOF). The three Time-of-Flight sensors are linked to individual electrostatic energy-analyzing deflection systems, which are optimized for large geometrical factors and wide angular acceptance. The last requirement is a consequence of the three-axis stabilization of the SOHO spacecraft.


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Last Update: May 6, 2000, James Weygand